TLC tonight: Border murder case involving 1,100-pound woman

A TV documentary explores a bizarre Texas border crime that involved one of the heaviest women in the world and a slain young boy. “Half -Ton Killer?” airs at 8 tonight on TLC.

Mayra Rosales of the Rio Grande Valley is the central figure in the shocking special, which examines the death of a 2-year-old boy and the worldwide publicity that followed.

The case, which took place in the small Hidalgo County town of Sullivan City, started in 2008, when the bedridden Rosales claimed she killed her nephew Eliseo Jr. by accidentally rolling over and crushing him under her half-ton frame. She was eventually charged with murder.

But as news accounts reported, her lawyer, Sergio Valdez, suspected something very different happened. The boy’s head injuries didn’t correspond to Mayra’s story.

Besides, Mayra, who weighed in at 1,100 pounds, could barely move: Seriously ill from pneumonia, she required 10 men, the documentary points out, and an inordinately large ambulance to even reach the hospital. Still under doctors’ care, she now reportedly weighs in at a little more than 750 pounds.

It eventually came came out that she was covering up for her sister, Jaime. According to news reports, Rosales said she saw her sister use a brush to hit Eliseo on his arms, legs and head.

Later, when Eliseo started having breathing problems, he was rushed to the hospital where he later died.

Jaime Rosales eventually pleaded guilty to causing injury to a child. She’s serving a 15-year sentence.

The documentary includes startling footage of Mayra as she discusses the history of her weight problem and the criminal case in candid detail. Watch clips here.

Also featured are interviews with her attorney and various experts. It’s produced by Megalomedia, Inc.

If you miss tonight’s premiere of “Half-Ton Killer?”, TLC reports you can catch a replay on the channel at 7 p.m. on Nov. 7.